1. ITALY is a strip of land on the south of Europe, extending into the Mediterranean Sea. It is fancied to have the shape of a boot, the island of Sicily lying at the toe. It has a beautiful climate, the seasons of spring and summer seeming always to prevail.

2. If you were to go to this country, you would be charmed

with the beauty of the sky, and the balmy softness of the air. You would find grapes so abundant that you could buy a delicious bunch, as large as you could eat, for a half penny; and, if you wished for wine, you could get a bottle for a penny.

3. You would find, in short, that Italy abounds in pleasant fruits, and in every species of production required for the comfort of man. You would find the people, men, women, and children, living a great part of the time in the open air, often singing, and sometimes dancing in groups beneath the

trees.

4. But in the midst of these signs of cheerfulness, you would observe a great deal of poverty, and you would soon discover that many of the people are indolent, vicious, and degraded.

5. In the cities, many of which are large, and filled with thousands of people, you would notice costly churches and splendid palaces, many of them built of marble. But still everything around you would bear an aspect of decay, and impress you with the idea that Italy, with all its splendour, is an unhappy country.

6. At Florence, Rome, Naples, and other large cities, you would find collections of pictures and statues, which surpass in beauty everything of the kind in the world. These pictures are the works of famous artists, who lived in Italy, within the last five hundred years.

7. The statues are the productions of sculptors, who lived

at various periods within the last two thousand years. Some of them, indeed, are supposed to have been executed by Grecian artists, who lived in the time of Pericles.

8. But in all Italy there is nothing that will excite so much interest as the ruins of ancient Rome, many of which are still to be seen in the modern city. These, like the ancient remains of Egypt and Greece, would delight you with their beauty, and astonish you by their grandeur and magnificence.

9. The most remarkable edifice of modern times, to be found in Italy, is the church of St. Peter at Rome, the height of which is nearly five hundred feet. Near this is the Vatican, a famous palace inhabited by the pope, who reigns over Rome and the country around, like a king.

10. If you were to go to Naples, you would see, at the distance of a few miles, a famous mountain called Vesuvius, from which smoke, flame, and torrents of melted lava have periodically issued for ages. Sometimes whole towns and cities in the neighbourhood have been buried beneath the burning masses.

11. If you were to go to Sicily, you would find another volcanic mountain, called Etna, which also pours out, from time to time, immense volumes of smoke, fire, and lava. Yet, on the very sides of these mountains the people dwell in thickly-settled villages, and here you will find rich vineyards, beautiful gardens, and groves of figs, oranges, and olives.

12. Having visited Italy, you will return home with many